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Police are searching for a man who allegedly tried to lure girls into his van in two separate incidents in New Jersey. Jen Maxfield reports. (Published Monday, Nov. 25, 2013)

Police in a New Jersey community are dispatching extra patrols and distributing flyers as they search for a man who allegedly tried to lure two girls into his vehicle last week.

The driver, described as a man in his 40s or 50s, got out of his dark-colored vehicle on Station Parkway near Fort Lee Road in Leonia and approached a 12-year-old girl walking home from school last Thursday, asking her inappropriate questions, police said.

On Saturday, the same man honked repeatedly at a 15-year-old girl near the intersection of Broad Avenue and Fort Lee Road, followed her and asked directions to Overpeck Park, according to police. He then asked her to "just get in the car and show him." The girl ran away into a nearby business and called police.

Leonia police Monday were keeping a close eye on children walking home from the Anna C. Scott Elementary School.

"Time is precious in these cases," said Leonia Police Chief Thomas Rowe. "We want parents to tell their kids to call us directly so we can get there quickly."

The suspect is described as being thin with an uneven beard and long, shaggy brown hair. The older girl said he was driving an older-model black or blue Chevy Tahoe with New Jersey license plates containing a W.

Leonia police have requested surveillance video from one of the banks near Saturday's luring to try to get a full license plate number off the SUV. They're also checking sex offender registries to see if anyone fits his description.